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UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers honors outstanding educators, elects seven new members

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The UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers welcomed the above seven outstanding educators to its latest class of inductees at its recent annual reception and award ceremony.

Back in person, the 16th Annual UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers (SWAT) Reception and Awards ceremony was held in November to honor UTSW faculty members for teaching excellence in 2021 and 2022 as well as to welcome newly elected SWAT members.

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Vivyenne Roche, M.D.

The annual ceremony is sponsored by SWAT, a group of elite UTSW educators who strive to provide an academic and organizational environment that fosters excellence in teaching at all levels, rewards superb teachers, stimulates innovation in education, and promotes scholarship in education.

“Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to host this important teaching recognition event for the past two years. We were delighted to have this opportunity to once again hold this event in person this year,” said Vivyenne Roche, M.D., President of SWAT, a Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Professor of Internal Medicine.

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W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D.

W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D., Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Provost, and Dean of UT Southwestern Medical School, provided opening remarks and presented the awards.

“As faculty in an academic medical center, our educators are at the core of our institutional identity, whose continuous excellence enhances all areas of our mission,” Dr. Lee said. “I commend the honorees for their ingenuity to turn challenging situations, especially over the pandemic, into catalysts for innovation.”

The faculty members honored for outstanding teaching and their awards are as follows:


UT SOUTHWESTERN ACADEMY OF TEACHERS OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARDS 2022

Khuloud Jaqaman, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences

“The key to being an effective educator is to, on the one hand, boil material down to its essence and explain things from the bottom up starting with fundamental concepts, and, on the other hand, employ examples to which students can relate. Examples help illustrate and explain fundamental concepts, which in turn connect the dots between bits and pieces of knowledge, thus generating a deep understanding of the subject matter.”

– Khuloud Jaqaman

 

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Khuloud Jaqaman, Ph.D.

Dr. Jaqaman is an Associate Professor of Biophysics and in the Lyda Hill Department of Bioinformatics. Her research is focused on the spatiotemporal organization of signaling proteins at the plasma membrane, its underlying mechanisms, and its consequences for cell signaling. Her lab develops integrative approaches combining light microscopy, computer vision, and mathematical modeling to address these questions.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in physics at Birzeit University in Palestine, she completed her Ph.D. in biophysics at Indiana University Bloomington and then trained as a postdoctoral fellow in cell biology at The Scripps Research Institute. She was an Instructor in systems biology at Harvard Medical School before joining UTSW in 2013 as a Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas Scholar.

Dr. Jaqaman


Staci Shearin, Ph.D., M.P.T.
School of Health Professions

“I was so honored to be included with this wonderful group of educators. It’s a unique position to be educating future clinicians and requires varied approaches to be effective. A few aspects of successful education that I strive to focus on include listening to and caring for students, working to foster my clinical and research skills, and continuing to provide varied opportunities for learning. I definitely feel as though it is a process that requires consistent growth!”

– Staci Shearin

 

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Staci Shearin, Ph.D., M.P.T.

Dr. Shearin is an Associate Professor of Physical Therapy in the School of Health Professions. Her research interests include gait training with the use of orthoses and neurologic rehabilitation, including gait and exercise interventions for individuals with Parkinson’s disease.

After completing her bachelor’s degree at the University of Tulsa, she earned a Master of Physical Therapy at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then received her Ph.D. in physical therapy at Texas Woman’s University.


Bret Evers, M.D., Ph.D.
UT Southwestern Medical School Biomedical Science Educator

“I believe that one learns best when connections are made between various, seemingly isolated, facts. These connections create a unified understanding of the subject, making information easily retainable and inspiring confidence in one’s knowledge. As an educator, I strive to create an engaging, relaxed learning environment where everyone – including myself – participates in learning. This open-learning environment is crucial in forming those connections that will hopefully last throughout one’s career.”

– Bret Evers

 

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Bret Evers, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Evers is an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Ophthalmology. His research interests include neurodegenerative disorders, ophthalmic pathology, comparative histopathology, and the phenotypic analysis of animal models.

After graduating from the Perot Family Scholars Medical Scientist Training Program at UT Southwestern, Dr. Evers completed his residency in anatomic pathology and fellowships in neuropathology and ophthalmic pathology – all at UT Southwestern. He joined the faculty in 2016 as an Assistant Instructor and was named an Assistant Professor in 2018.

In addition to his clinical duties, Dr. Evers is the Director of Autopsy at UT Southwestern and Parkland Memorial Hospital as well as Director of the Histo Pathology Core. He also teaches extensively in the pre-clerkship curriculum of the Medical School and within the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He received the Outstanding Biomedical Science Educator Award in 2018.


Thomas Dalton, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical School Clinical Educator

“I am honored to be recognized with this award. For me, being an effective educator is about stoking the flames of curiosity in students. Our learners are incredibly bright, but no matter what one achieves, one’s education should never end. My aim as a teacher is to model the fact that education is most effective when it occurs as the result of intrinsic motivation rather than external mandates or rewards.”

– Thomas Dalton

 

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Thomas Dalton, M.D.

Dr. Dalton is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and a member of the Division of Geriatric Medicine. His clinical interests center on acute care of the older adult, perioperative care for older adults undergoing elective surgery, and building interprofessional teams to help older adults and their families navigate the health care system.

He completed medical school and residency training in internal medicine at UTSW. After serving an additional year as Chief Resident in internal medicine, he completed a fellowship in geriatric medicine with a concentration in medical education at Duke University. Board-certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, Dr. Dalton joined the UTSW faculty in 2014.

He received UT Southwestern’s Rising Star Award in 2018 and was inducted into SWAT in 2021.

 


UTSW DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARDS 2022

 

Biff Franklin Palmer, M.D.
Biomedical Science

“My passion and success as an educator come from the excitement that I obtain by delving into the most basic pathophysiologic mechanisms of a disease state and parlaying this information and knowledge to the learner. I believe we are all lifelong learners, and we are most successful as educators when we convey that which drives us.”

– Biff Franklin Palmer

 

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Biff Franklin Palmer, M.D.

Dr. Palmer is Professor of Internal Medicine and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. He has authored more than 270 articles and chapters and served on the nephrology subspecialty board for the American Board of Internal Medicine. He received the UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2012 and the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation’s Piper Professor Award in 2020. In addition, he is a member of SWAT and The University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education.

After receiving his medical degree from UT Southwestern, he completed his residency in internal medicine at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., followed by a research fellowship in the Department of Nephrology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and a clinical fellowship in the Division of Nephrology at UTSW-Parkland Memorial Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine and nephrology.


Vivyenne Roche, M.D.
Clinical

“I have very much appreciated the privilege of teaching students, residents, and interdisciplinary team members about older adults – the ‘Greatest Generation’ – building relationships with them and the many things they have taught me. As a clinician-educator for over 30 years, honoring each patient’s dignity and being their best advocate has been the central tenet of my teaching portfolio.”

– Vivyenne Roche

 

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Vivyenne Roche, M.D. and W. P. Andrew Lee, M.D.

Dr. Roche, a Professor of Internal Medicine, is a specialist in geriatric medicine, whose interests include memory disorders, helping patients maintain or improve their functional status, polypharmacy, and quality improvement. A Distinguished Teaching Professor, she serves as Director of the Geriatric Care Center Clinic and Director of the UTSW Geriatrics Fellowship Program.

After earning her medical degree at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dr. Roche completed residencies in internal medicine at Dublin, Ireland; Perth, Western Australia; Saint Joseph Hospital in Denver; and UTSW. She received advanced training in geriatric medicine through a fellowship at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in geriatric medicine, she joined the UTSW faculty in 1999.

Dr. Roche is a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society, a member of the Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs, and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. She was elected to SWAT in 2016 and the UT Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education in 2019. She received the University of Texas Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2021 and is a Master of Pritchard College at UTSW.


UT SOUTHWESTERN ACADEMY OF TEACHERS OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR AWARDS 2021

 

P. Michel Statler, M.L.A.
School of Health Professions

“The key to being an effective educator is embracing the path of a lifelong learner,” she said. “An expression attributed to Michelangelo – ‘Ancora imparo,’ which translates into ‘I am still learning’ – has shaped my career and will continue to do so as I continue to invest in the education of the new generation of clinicians.”

– P. Michel Statler

 

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P. Michel Statler, M.L.A.

Ms. Statler is an Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies. She spent 14 years as a surgical physician assistant in cardiac surgery, ENT, and neurosurgery before becoming a PA educator. She was the Associate Director for the PA programs at UTSW and Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona, before becoming the first PA educator to join the staff at the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) in 2010 as Senior Director of Academic Affairs. In 2013 she returned to PA education as Program Director for the Physician Assistant Program at Rosalind Franklin University and then rejoined the UTSW faculty in 2019.

Ms. Statler has published in peer-reviewed journals and been an invited speaker at state and national conferences. She serves as Immediate Past President for the PAEA Board of Directors and is a member of the PAEA Presidents Commission.


Donald W. Hilgemann, Ph.D.
UT Southwestern Medical School
Biomedical Science

“Teaching is a two-way street. Effective education occurs only when both educators and students are highly committed to an outstanding outcome. It almost always occurs in small groups. It never occurs during lectures given to an empty lecture hall.”

– Donald W. Hilgemann

 

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Donald W. Hilgemann, Ph.D.

Dr. Hilgemann is Professor of Physiology, Internal Medicine, and in the Charles and Jane Pak Center for Mineral Metabolism and Clinical Research. Using innovative electrical and optical methods, his lab studies the function and regulation of sodium transporters in the surface membrane of mammalian cells, including their impact on cardiac cells in pathological settings such as ischemia. Recently, he has studied mechanisms that remodel the surface membrane, both mechanisms that remove plasma membrane and that add to it. These studies are opening new pathways to understanding the dynamics of cell membranes in both physiological settings and in diseases that involve metabolic stress.

After beginning his training at the University of Iowa, Dr. Hilgemann earned a Master of Science in biology and a Ph.D. in pharmacology and physiology from the University of Tübingen in Germany. He was a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA. After serving as a Visiting Research Fellow at Oxford University, he joined the UTSW faculty in 1988.


Kehinde Odedosu, M.D.
UT Southwestern Medical School
Clinical

“The importance of role modeling in how one teaches cannot be overemphasized. Many of the instructional principles that I utilized as a clinician-educator were learned through observing seasoned clinician-educators both inside and outside of UTSW. Early on, I recall observing an esteemed clinician-educator do something quite simple. Before introducing a difficult topic, he captivated the learners’ attention with something relatable, which made the concept simpler to them.

I have applied this skill numerous times when instructing different learners. I ‘hook’ them with a story to get their attention, and this allows the student to start reflecting on the subject. I am essentially offering the framework for beginning the process of critical thinking.”

– Kehinde Odedosu

 

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Kehinde Odedosu, M.D.

Dr. Odedosu is an Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine with a clinical focus in hospital medicine and perioperative medicine. In addition to patient care, Dr. Odedosu has a strong commitment to medical education and is currently co-Clerkship Director for the Internal Medicine Clerkship. She is also honored to serve as a Pritchard College mentor at UTSW.

Raised in New York City and Lagos, Nigeria, she earned bachelor’s degrees in integrative neuroscience and Spanish from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton and her medical degree from SUNY at Stony Brook. Her passion for working with the underserved patient population led her to New York University/Bellevue Hospital, where she completed an internal medicine residency. In 2010, she continued her career as a hospitalist and joined the UTSW faculty.


UTSW DISTINGUISHED EDUCATOR AWARDS 2021

 

Janine Prange-Kiel, Ph.D.
Biomedical Science

“I am deeply honored to receive the Distinguished Biomedical Science Educator Award. For me, being an effective educator means to meet the students at their level of knowledge and facilitate their ability to draw from multiple resources to deepen and broaden their understanding.”

– Janine Prange-Kiel

 

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Janine Prange-Kiel, Ph.D.

Dr. Prange-Kiel is Associate Professor of Surgery and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. Her research interests include the regulation of estradiol synthesis in the hippocampus and its local effects on synaptic plasticity and neuroprotection.

She completed her graduate work in cell biology at the University of Tübingen in Germany and joined the UTSW faculty in 2008. She was elected to SWAT and received a Small Grant Award for the project “Effects of The Origami Embryo, a Hands-On Exercise on the Understanding of Early Embryonic Development” in 2019.


Dorothy Sendelbach, M.D.
Clinical

“In educating our future physicians, we cannot underestimate the importance of cultivating compassion, empathy, and professionalism, in addition to a superb foundation of knowledge and clinical reasoning skills. It’s been my greatest privilege to influence the educational process for so many brilliant learners on our campus.”

– Dorothy Sendelbach

 

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Dorothy Sendelbach, M.D.

Dr. Sendelbach is Professor of Pediatrics, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education, and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. Her research interests include complete blood counts in term infants with exposure to pretreated chorioamnionitis, duration of antibiotic treatment of pneumonia in term newborns, and noninvasive bilirubin measurements.

After receiving a Bachelor of Science in biomedical engineering from Rutgers University and her M.D. from New Jersey Medical School-Rutgers University, Dr. Sendelbach completed a residency in pediatrics at Children’s Medical Center Dallas. She worked in a community clinic for refugees and the underserved prior to joining the faculty in 1993 as a general pediatrician in the Newborn Nursery.

Dr. Sendelbach is a member of SWAT and the UT Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education. She is now Master of Fashena College at UTSW, having served as a student mentor since its inception.


2022 UT SOUTHWESTERN ACADEMY OF TEACHERS NEW MEMBERS

 

The UT Southwestern Academy of Teachers welcomed seven outstanding educators to its latest class of inductees: Archana Dhar, M.D., Laura Howe-Martin, Ph.D., David Johnson, M.D., Beth Kennard, Psy.D., Benjamin Lee, M.D., Tamara McGregor, M.D., and Melanie S. Sulistio, M.D.

SWAT members are recognized as educators who strive to provide an academic and organizational environment that fosters excellence in teaching at all levels, rewards superb teachers, stimulates innovation in education, and promotes scholarship in education.

“We have outstanding educators at UT Southwestern and receive a large number of worthy applications to the Southwestern Academy of Teachers each year,” Dr. Roche said. “There is a careful and thorough selection process. These newly elected members to SWAT have been selected based on their exceptional expertise, talent, and passion for education at the UT  Southwestern Medical School, Graduate School, or School of Health Professions. We look forward to benefiting from their ongoing commitment and creativity as they teach our interprofessional, undergraduate, and graduate trainees.”

SWAT members are nominated by Deans, Center Directors, Department Chairs, and current Academy members, with membership based on sustained excellence in at least two of the following areas: teaching, instructional development and curricular design, advising and mentoring, educational administration and leadership, and educational research. Members have at least seven years of teaching experience at UT Southwestern and actively participate in ongoing SWAT-related activities.

Here are more details about the 2022 class:

 

Archana Dhar, M.D.

“It is my privilege and responsibility to pass on hard-earned knowledge and experience to the next generation of physicians. I especially enjoy one-on-one mentoring students, trainees, and junior faculty; it keeps me connected with bright young minds and energizes me. I am thankful for the opportunity to model the best qualities of what it means to be a physician: compassion, empathy, intellectual curiosity, and the need to do our very best for our patients.”

– Archana Dhar

 

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Archana Dhar, M.D.

Dr. Dhar, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a Distinguished Teaching Professor, has been a faculty member in the Division of Pediatric Critical Care since 2008. She also is co-Director of the Cardiovascular Course for Pre-Clerkship students.

After receiving her medical degree from B.J. Medical College in India, she completed a residency in pediatrics at B.J. Medical College, followed by an internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma, and a fellowship in pediatric critical care medicine at the University of Tennessee.

The ICU has a wide range of learners – medical students, residents, fellows, attending physicians, as well as patients and families. Dr. Dhar said she enjoys the challenge the different levels of learners pose since it requires her to adapt her methodology and tools to deliver optimal learning and retention.


Laura Howe-Martin, Ph.D.

“Effective teaching takes a lot of work but can also be extraordinarily fun,” Dr. Howe-Martin said. “If you’re not enjoying the process, you can bet your students aren’t enjoying it much either.”

– Laura Howe-Martin

 

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Laura Howe-Martin, Ph.D.

Dr. Howe-Martin is Professor of Psychiatry and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. A board-certified clinical psychologist, she serves as Director of Behavioral Sciences at the Moncrief Cancer Institute and Regional Psycho-Oncology Lead for the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, where she also treats patients, supervises trainees, and engages in clinical research.

In addition, Dr. Howe-Martin is the Chair-Elect for the American Psychological Association’s Continuing Education Committee. She and Adam Brenner, M.D., UTSW Professor of Psychiatry, recently co-edited Psychotherapy: A Practical Introduction, an introductory book on psychotherapy for trainees and early-career professionals.

Prior to earning her doctoral degree from the University of North Texas, Dr. Howe-Martin received much of her training within the Federal Bureau of Prisons, treating inmates with chronic mental illness and comorbid medical complications. She completed postdoctoral training at UTSW with the Consult-Liaison Psychiatry Division. She joined the UTSW faculty in 2009.


David Johnson, M.D.

“As a teaching philosophy, I favor hands-on experiences, strong role models, and narrative medicine,” Dr. Johnson said. “As Osler said over 100 years ago, ‘Medicine is learned by the bedside and not in the classroom. Let not your conceptions of disease come from the words heard in the lecture room or read from the book. See, then reason, compare, and control. But see first.’ Indeed, it is at the bedside where one learns the difference between disease and illness and undergoes the transformation from doctor to physician.”

– David Johnson

 

man in white lab coat, orange seats, white hari
David Johnson, M.D.

Dr. Johnson is a Professor of Internal Medicine and a member of the Division of Hematology-Oncology in the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research interests involve understanding the biology of lung cancer and improving treatment of this and other solid tumors, with his investigations resulting in more than 400 peer-reviewed publications and over 50 book chapters and monographs.

After receiving his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, he completed internal medicine residency training at Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, New York, followed by a fellowship in medical oncology at Vanderbilt University. Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, medicine oncology, and hematology, he served on the faculties of the Medical College of Georgia and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine before joining the UTSW faculty in 2010 as Chair of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Johnson is a past Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine Board of Directors, past President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and a past board member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. He also has served on the Food and Drug Administration’s Oncology Drug Advisory Committee and several National Cancer Institute advisory committees.


Beth Kennard, Psy.D.

“As a clinical psychologist educator, I work to appreciate the unique backgrounds, learning styles, and challenges of each student. I try to tailor the training to fit the needs of each student and ‘fit’ the assignment of practicum, research, and internship experiences to the training goals and needs of each student,” Dr. Kennard said. “While training and supervising students and watching them grow is very rewarding, nothing compares to having former students reach out to you to tell you of their successes and to express their gratitude for their learning experiences in the program.”

– Beth Kennard

 

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Beth Kennard, Psy.D.

Dr. Kennard is Professor of Psychiatry and in the Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health, Program Chair of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. She also is Program Director of the Suicide Prevention and Resilience Program at Children’s Health.

Dr. Kennard has over 30 years of clinical experience with children and adolescents with a variety of psychiatric disorders. The focus of her research is adolescent depression, and she has worked on several National Institute of Mental Health-funded trials evaluating the integration of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication treatment. She has developed a cognitive behavioral sequential treatment strategy to prevent relapse in youth with depression, which was tested in two clinical trials with positive results. She has adapted this treatment to youth with HIV and depression, which also was tested in a clinical trial with positive outcomes. Recently she helped develop and evaluate a brief inpatient intervention and suicide safety planning app to decrease suicidal behavior after discharge. This intervention and app are being further tested in a larger trial funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

In addition to SWAT, Dr. Kennard is a 2022 inductee into the UT Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education.


Benjamin Lee, M.D.

“There are many different learner types – visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal, social, solitary, logical – and an effective educator can find the right match between material, medium, and learner preference. Effective educators are innovative, passionate, and adaptable as they value the success of students, some of whom will become the next generation of teachers,” Dr. Lee said.

– Benjamin Lee

 

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Benjamin Lee, M.D. (center) poses for a photo at the SWAT award ceremony with Drs. Roche and Lee.

Dr. Lee is Associate Professor of Pediatrics and a Distinguished Teaching Professor. His two primary areas of interest are medical education and advocacy, and he stresses the importance of family-centered care and shared decision-making.

In addition to serving as Chair of the Post-Clerkship Committee, which oversees the curriculum of fourth-year medical students, Dr. Lee is the Pediatric Clerkship Director for second- and third-year medical students. He also is a past Chair of the Texas Medical Association’s Committee on Child and Adolescent Health as well as the Council on Health Promotion.

After graduating from Temple University School of Medicine, he completed his internship and pediatrics residency at Children’s Medical Center Dallas/UTSW. He is board-certified in both general pediatrics and pediatric hospital medicine and works as a hospitalist at Children’s.


Tamara McGregor, M.D.

“I am thrilled to be selected for the Southwestern Academy of Teachers and honored to stand among luminary physician-educators already inducted into SWAT,” she said.

– Tamara McGregor

 

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Tamara McGregor, M.D.

Dr. McGregor is an Associate Professor in Family and Community Medicine and Internal Medicine. After graduating from UT Southwestern Medical School and completing her family medicine residency at John Peter Smith Hospital, she joined a private family practice in Fort Worth and took added work as a hospice medical director, where she learned the vital importance of effective symptom control in very ill patients. This promptly led her to deliver her first medical lecture on “Effective Pain Treatment at End of Life” to her former resident-peers.

Joining a four-woman family practice at UT Southwestern’s former St. Paul University Hospital, she quickly discovered that she enjoyed teaching her patients as much as treating them. Inspired by her mother’s long career as a Piper Professor in English, Dr. McGregor realized she could help more patients as a medical educator than as a lone physician, and she joined academic medicine at the St. Paul Family Medicine residency program, which merged with the UTSW Family Medicine program in 2003.

“Dr. Mac,” as patients and medical students call her, was instrumental in developing and growing the University Hospital’s palliative care program and emphasizes “primary palliative care” teaching to all levels of learners and specialties. She serves as a UTSW Colleges mentor and has been awarded several teaching awards over her career.

When asked about key attributes of an effective educator, Dr. McGregor notes that she starts with basic skills, humor, and warmth, and never forgets the excitement and “stark terror” of that first-day, first-year medical student. Humility and gratitude fuel her passion to serve patients and teach and develop skilled, compassionate doctors.


Melanie S. Sulistio, M.D.

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Melanie S. Sulistio, M.D.

Dr. Sulistio is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, a Distinguished Teaching Professor, and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. After earning her undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame, she completed medical school and graduate training in internal medicine and cardiology at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2009.

Dr. Sulistio’s core mission is to promote humanity and compassion in medicine. Beyond exhibiting these traits in her care of patients, the focus of this work has been in education. Before her role as Associate Dean, she was an Associate Program Director for both the UTSW Internal Medicine Residency and the Cardiovascular Fellowship. She regularly gives lectures to medical students, residents, and fellows locally, as well as nationally at conferences and grand rounds at other institutions.

Among her research, Dr. Sulistio has evaluated gender and sex differences in medical education, including differences in self-reported confidence and its association with specialty choice. Her other important patient-centered work has been directed toward quality improvement and research regarding the effects of defibrillators at end of life.

Dr. Sulistio’s national work includes co-chairing the Internal Medicine Programs for American College of Cardiology, serving on the Diversity and Inclusion ACC Committee, and giving faculty development workshops on medical education, communication skills, promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, and end-of-life issues in cardiology.


2022 SHINE ACADEMY INDUCTEES

 

In recognition of exceptional health science teaching, two UT Southwestern educators were selected for induction into the UT System’s Kenneth I. Shine, M.D., Academy of Health Science Education: Beth Kennard, Psy.D. (see bio in SWAT section above) and J. Kathleen Trello-Rishel, M.D.

Established in 2005, the Academy is named after Kenneth I. Shine, former UT System Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, who championed many enhancements in health care education and research before retiring in 2013. He also served as interim Chancellor for the UT System in 2008.

New members are selected annually from the faculty and professional education staff of the UT System health institutions.

“The key to being an effective educator is working with great mentors and collaborating with excellent educators, continuing to learn new teaching methods, and listening and learning from the students who we teach,”.

– J. Kathleen Trello-Rishel

 

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J. Kathleen Trello-Rishel, M.D.

Dr. Trello-Rishel is a Professor of Psychiatry, Program Director of the new Triple Board Program at UT Southwestern, and Program Director of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship, where she has revised the fellowship curriculum and added additional rotation sites to enable fellows to treat a more diverse patient population. From 2013-2021, she served as Director for the Psychiatry Clerkship. In that role, she worked to help address the problem of grading discrepancy in the clerkship and was involved with a UT System collaborative project to create a common DSM-5 curriculum.

For her active involvement in medical student education, Dr. Trello-Rishel has received both institutional and national awards. She is a member of SWAT and was named Outstanding Clinical Educator in 2018. In addition, she is a Distinguished Fellow in the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry as well as a past President of the Texas Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.


OME/SWAT FELLOWS

 

Sponsored by SWAT in partnership with the Office of Medical Education (OME), the annual SWAT/OME Fellowship supports a year of faculty development in medical education, which may include activities such as attendance at an education conference and support development of new campus educational projects in the realm of undergraduate medical education. Educational proposals from the School of Health Professions and the Graduate School are also considered.

2022 OME/SWAT Fellows include Jaini Sutaria, M.D., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, for the project “Medical Escape Room – A Curricular Innovation to Prepare Students for Transition to Residency” and Shumon Dhar, M.D., Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, for the project “Development of an Online Library of Video Stroboscopy of the Larynx.”

2021 OME/SWAT Fellows are Caitlin Siropaides, D.O., Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, for the project “Improving Objective Grading and Narrative Assessments by Volunteer Faculty Via Tailored Faculty Development” and M. Brett Cooper, M.D., Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, for the project “Improving Narrative Assessments of Students in the Ambulatory Setting Via a Faculty Development Initiative.”

 

SWAT SMALL GRANT AWARDS 2022

 

Kim Barker, M.D., Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: “Multidisciplinary Simulation Training for Autonomic Dysreflexia for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Residents and Rehabilitation Nurses”

Ellen Grishman, M.D., Associate Professor of Pediatrics: “Sexual Health Education for Medical Students”

Brett Whittemore, M.D., Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery: “Problem-Based Learning Brain Dissection Module for Neurosurgery Medical Students”

Nora Gimpel, M.D., Professor of Family and Community Medicine: “Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention: Educating and Empowering Medical Students to Expand Screenings in a Community Clinic”

Yevgenia Fomina, M.D., Assistant Instructor of Obstetrics and Gynecology: “Simulation to Improve Resident Medical and Surgical Management of Postpartum Hemorrhage in Women Undergoing Cesarean Delivery”

Bau (Bo) Tran, M.M.S., PA-C, Pharm.D., Assistant Professor of Physician Assistant Studies: “Development and Implementation of Standardized Suturing and Knot-Tying Modules”

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